


Twisted

by juliaspberry



Category: Bleach
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Reader-Insert, Romantic Comedy, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-10-31 13:15:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17850134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juliaspberry/pseuds/juliaspberry
Summary: As you struggle to accomplish your tasks as the new captain of division 8, Shinji decides to lend you a hand. He turnes your world upside down before you can even say "Sakanade".





	1. The Glow

 

You thought you’d feel less flustered after the meeting, but no. Frankly speaking, it got only worse so you took the chance and grasped Rukia when she passed you in the hallway.

“Hey, Rukia-chan!”

She looked surprised, but smiled when she noticed it was you grabbing her. “Hey, _-chan. What’s the matter?” You lowered your voice when you answered, “I’ve gotta tell you something. It’s, uhm… it’s because…” You looked around, hoping he was already out of earshot. “ _This_ dude, you know who. It happened _again_ and I’m already thinking he’s doing it on purpose. Can we meet today evening?”

Rukia put a fingertip on her nose, sometimes she did that when she was thinking. When she finally answered, it took a load off your mind. “That won’t be a problem. The usual spot?”

You nodded, relieved.

You knew you could count on her.

You entered the bar way too early, but Rukia was early, too. She already decided on a table and ordered some sake for the two of you. Rukia waved when she noticed your arrival. You made your way through the bar and sat down face to face with her. “Okay, I have to admit you made me quite curious, so you better spill out all the details!” she said, pouring sake into your cup. You sighed. You wished there where ‘all the details’.

“So, before the meeting I accidentally ran into _him_. I just didn’t see him coming and dropped all the documents on the floor. _All_. _The_. _Documents_.” You sighed again. “I hate Kyouraku-san for being such a lazy Captain, leaving all the important paperwork to his successor.” You frowned. That successor was you, given that position after Shunsui Kyouraku became the new Captain of the 1st division. Everyone knew he was lazy but you didn’t imagine the mountains of paperwork to be so… high. “Feels like he never actually did any of them”, you muttered.

Rukia took a sip of her sake, looking at you in a suspicious way. “Did you really want to meet because you want to whine about how lazy your predecessor is?” She put her cup down, leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms. “_-chan, don’t keep me in suspense. You ran into him. What happened next?”

 You sighed again. “Well, then...”

*****

 “OUCH!”

“FRICK!”

You just bumped into someone. You got back on your feet, just to get down again, bending over the mess that were your neatly assorted documents. “Oh no, no, no, _nooo_...” It took you ages to look trough all that stuff, and now all the effort you put into sorting went to waste.

“Ahh, sorry. Didn’t see yer comin’. Lemme help yer with that.” A second pair of hands started picking up the documents. You knew whose hands those were. You knew right when he started talking. _It’s him._

A few minutes passed. You were still thinking what to say when he handed you over the documents he gathered.

“Here yer go.”

“Thank you, Hirako-san.”

“Need some help to assort these? Guess yer need them fer today, huh?”

You put on a weak smile. He’s right. You were supposed to hand these documents in at today’s meeting. Seeing them being all messy again made you want to run straight to your office, lock yourself up and cry a bit.

“C’mon. ‘s still two hours until the meeting begins. We can do this!”

Shinji took back the papers he had just given to you, sat down on the floor and started looking through them. A little bit puzzled, you sat down next to him.

“O-okay… ?”

Time passes as the two of you made your way through the documents. “This is the last one, I guess.” You finally put the last sheet of paper down. “We really did it on time!” You lifted your hands above your head, stretching a little bit.

“Told yer so.” Shinji grinned. He leaned back at the wall. “So, _-san, whatcha up to until the meeting starts?” He bowed his head in your direction, his side-swept fringe covered his left eye a little. His glance at you was intense nevertheless.

And before you could think twice, the words slipped out of your mouth.

“If you continue staring at me with those eyes, I think I might faint.”

*****

“I was so sure he’d say something inappropriate or that he would even laugh at me, but… to be honest, nothing like that happened. Instead, his Hollow mask flashed. AGAIN.”

Rukia spit her sake all over the table.

“Come to think of it, is that a metaphor for something or did it really flash?”

“It really did.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t ‘oh’ me, that’s not helpful!” You scolded her, but you were not angry. You watched Rukia wiping the sake off the table, frowning.

“And this is the third time in a row he did that after you said something dumb?”

“Excuse me-”

“Oh, just admit that you are a dipshit.” Rukia grinned. She enjoyed teasing you since you told her that you liked a certain blonde captain of the Gotei 13 a little bit more than you’ve planned. You took her cup and poured her some more sake before you handed it back to her.

“Thank you, _-chan. Oh look. Our order came!” You didn’t know she ordered food, but apparently she did. The waiter placed a bunch of hot, steaming takoyaki right before you. You smiled. A typical girls’ night out with Rukia. Sake and takoyaki. You grabbed your chopsticks, so did your friend. You just remembered how hungy you were. You were too busy being flustered about the meet-up with Shinji to notice it earlier.

While you were eating, Rukia continues her guesswork.

“Don’t you think it’s weird he does that Hollow thing every time you’re being too obvious about your feelings? When you first told me about this I thought he might did it to make the situation less awkward for both of you, but now that I think about it again,...” she took another sip of her sake. “This is a nice ice-breaker if it happens once, but I don’t think Shinji is dumb enough to crack the same joke over and over again.”

“You do?” You raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Actually, yes. He’s quite smart, so… I wonder if he did it because he felt somehow embarrassed.”

Your eyes widened in surprise, your chopsticks stopped midway to your mouth.

„Could you say that again?“

Rukia sighed and gave you her famous ‘are you kidding me’ look, but she’s kind enough to do you the favour. “Did it never cross your mind that he might be doing this because he doesn’t want you to see him blushing?”

“Uhm...”

“Apparently not.” Rukia grabbed another takoyaki with her chopsticks, refusing to keep on explaining while having her mouth full. It felt like eternity until she finished chewing and swallowed the food. “Did you never realised how his reiatsu changes when you’re around?”

“… it does?” You were feeling puzzled again, because you really never noticed any changes in Shinji’s reiatsu. (But let’s be honest, you were too busy keeping your own reiatsu on a normal level, so maybe that’s why.)

“YES!” Rukia almost shouted. “It’s like he’s glowing or something.”

“Glowing?”

“_-chan! What are you, a parrot? Anyways, pay attention to his reiatsu next time and you’ll see!”

*****

A few hours later you decided Rukia had enough sake for today. You asked for the bill and turned to your friend after you payed for the food and drinks. Rukia was trying to get up her seat, but somehow her legs were shaky. You grabbed her arm, giving her support while walking her through the bar.

“Do… do we really… have to go now?” Rukia mumbled.

“Yes. You already had too much, you can’t even walk properly anymore. Come on now.” You opened the door and went outside. Fresh, cold air hit you straight into the face.

“Cold...”, Rukia muttered.

It really was cold, but hopefully it would help Rukia become sober again. You were slowly walking her past the streets of the Seireitei, heading for her home when you came across another bar which was also popular among various division members. It’s been an unsual warm, springlike day for February, so most of the guest were still enjoying the evening in the outside part of the bar, despite the sinking temperatures.

***** 

When Kensei and Lisa asked him to join them getting some drinks after work, Shinji only agreed because the opportunity of alcohol getting him distracted from his thoughts sounded so promising.

Now he had to admit that he got anything but distracted. Tired, yes. Drunk, yes. But he was still thinking about what happened earlier in the morning.

“ _So, _-san, whatcha up to until the meeting starts?”_

“ _If you continue staring at me with those eyes, I think I might faint.”_

That’s what you said. That’s what made him flush so bad he had to hide it behind his mask in embarrassment, because he just wasn’t prepared for such an honest answer. He was barely able to keep his bubbling reiatsu under controll. How should he control his inner Hollow in this state? Shinji still wasn’t sure if you meant it or if you were just trying to play it cool. He kept the whole meeting thinking about it, leaving him having no idea what the meeting’s topic actually was. (At least his vice-captain, Momo, took notes.) Even now, sitting in an open-air pub with his colleagues, tossing lots of sake down, he could’nt get you out of his head.

This wasn’t the first time you left him speechless. Since you became the new captain of the 8th division you drew his attention. Shinji couldn’t explain why exactly, but somehow he grew fond of seeing you regularly in the meetings or randomly stopping by your office for a little chat. At first you were a bit baffled when he showed up occasionaly, having no serious reason at all to visit the 8th division, but you got used to it after a while. Your office was one of the few silent places in the Seireitei since the divisions still kind of granted you a ‘puppy license’. Sometimes Shinji would bring along some jazz music he acquired in the world of the living and made you listen to it while you were doing your reports. Shinji liked being around you. Most of the time. It got a little bit awkward recently because you would say something strange out of the blue. Shinji still remembered the first time it happened. He was casually lazing around your office, playing with one of your penholders, enjoying the silence while you were finishing a report, when he suddenly felt your eyes on him.

 He raised his head.

“Yer okay?”

“I’m just wondering how it feels like.”

“How what feels like?”

“Kissing when you’ve got your tongue pierced.” 

And before he even knew it, he hid his blushing face behind his Hollow mask. He couldn’t help it. It was like a reflex. He just didn’t expect you to be so bold. Normally he was the bold one.

Shinji were so lost in his thoughts again he didn’t even pay attention to his friends anymore, until...

 “Oh, look over there! It’s Kuchiki-san!”

“Looks like she took a cup too much, doesn’t she?”

“Thank goodness _-san is supporting her.”

 Shinji dropped his cup on the table, raising his head when Lisa mentioned your name. He looked over the street and there you were, walking down the alley, having your arm wrapped around Rukia’s waist, giving her support.

Damn, Rukia was lucky to be so close to you. Wait. What? 

Before he knew what he was doing he stood up, threw some money onto the table and walked out of the pub.

 

“Shinji?!”, Lisa shouted in surprise. “Where are you going??”

“Thought I could give the lass a hand. See yer tomorrow, folks.” He grinned and started walking over, raising a hand to wave at you.

“OI, _-san!”

***** 

“How do you feel?”

“A bit better… but still dizzy. Thank you for walking me home.” Rukia tried to smile at you, but it turned out pretty weird.

“I feel horrible...”

“You’ll feel worse tomorrow. Promise!”

“_-chan!”

“I’m sorry.”

A smile crossed your face. It was a good idea to hang out with Rukia this evening, even if you had to carry her home now.

“L-look over there, _-chan!” Rukia suddenly raised her head a little, nodding across the street. “Apparently you’re not the o-only one who needed a drink today.” She burped quitly. Your eyes followed the direction Rukia’s head had shown you. Your heart skipped a beat when you noticed it was Shinji who left the open-air pub, approaching you nonchalantly, waving hello. Your grip around Rukia’s waist tightened. “Ohhh, no, for fuck’s sake! What am I supposed to do now?”, you whispered.

“Don’t worry, just p-pay attention to h-his reiatsu this time”, Rukia whispered back, sounding like she was about to doze off.

“Rukia? Rukia-chan! Hey!! Don’t you dare falling asleep now! Hey!!!”

“OI, _-san!”

  _Shit_. There he was, giving you that wicked smile he was famous for and which made people think he’s a creep. Trying to stick by the advice Rukia gave you before she ‘passed out’, you watched out for any possible changes in his reiatsu.

And it had you blown away for a second.

His reiatsu was in uproar, a swirling warm mess. The moment your nerves sensed it, you could understand why Rukia would describe it as glowing. People with a low reiatsu would have had passed out by now. It felt like being burned alive while hugging the sun. You knew his reiatsu was impressive, but you didn’t know it was that _wild_.

How did you never notice _that_ before? 

Finally you found your voice again.

“Hirako-san. Good evening.” It sounded more husky than you preferred. You coughed slightly.

“Evenin’. What yer doin’ out this late?”

“… feeling the glow.”

“What?”

“What?!”

Oh shoot, you and your big mouth! You bit your lower lip, knitting your brows. At least he didn’t do that Hollow thing again. Nothing to worry about for now.

“Ahh, never mind. I’m just babbling. We were out for some sake, you know.” You pointed at Rukia. “She’s already on cloud nine. She doesn’t have a high tolerance for alcohol.”

Shinji looked rather amused.

“Yeah, I can see that. Mind me if I help yer a little?” Before you could say anything he had taken Rukia away from you, ready to give her a piggyback ride.

“Uhm, Hirako-san… you don’t have to… I can-”

“Nah, it’s fine. Let’s go”, he answered.

***** 

You walked down the streets together. Side by side, none of you saying a word. It was hard to admit, but you felt quite relieved to not have to carry Rukia anymore. Your back ached already.

“Thank you for that”, you mumbled, trying to make one step after the other despite your legs being all wobbly out of a sudden. You were not sure if it was because you were so tired, or because of all the sake you drank. You tried to convince yourself that it at least hadn’t got anything to do with the fellow captain next to you. His voice was somehow rough, almost an octave lower than usual when he answered.

“It’s nothing. Yer lookin’ like yer’d like to get carried yerself to be honest.”

“You shithead.” You were half-assed pretending to be pouting, but it was not that credible since you had to suppress a giggle.

“Sorry, not sorry.” Shinji laughed.

When you arrived, Shinji lowered his body to let you take Rukia off his back. You wrapped your arms around her like you did before, squeezing her softly to wake her up a little. While you were walking your friend to the door (it was more like dragging her) Shinji sat down on the stairs, resting his head in his hands.

“I’ma wait outside. Don’t have any desire of seeing that dude Byakuya.” He grinned, looking more wicked than ever. “He’s too much of a pain in the ass.”

“That’s rich, coming from you”, Rukia suddenly mumbled, finally coming to herself again. Shinji snorted, pulling a wry face. Your lips twitched in amusement. You used kido to open the door (it took Rukia half a year to persuade Byakuya to reveal the secret wording to you, and he made you vow on your zanpakuto to never tell anybody about it) and entered the Kuchiki mansion. Fortunately, Rukia’s room wasn’t far from the entrance. You walked past the corridor, kicked the door to her room open, run up straight to the bed and dropped your friend there. Rukia grunted, snuggling up in the sheets immediately. You started searching for her pyjama, frowning. “Don’t you dare falling asleep before you changed your clothes. I’m not gonna do this for you AGAIN!” This happened way too often for your taste. You found her pyjama and threw it in her direction. Rukia bobbed up and started undressing slowly. You sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping an eye on her

“I’ve felt it.”

“What?”, she muttered, sounding sleepy again.

“The glow.”

“Ahhhhh… !” Rukia grinned stupidly. “Impressive, huh?”

“It’s amazing. What kind of reiatsu is this? Is this because of the hollowfication?”

Rukia finished changing and lay back into the pillows, crossing her arms behind her head, closing her eyes. You were not sure if she was thinking about your question or falling asleep again. You got up the bed, walking over to the door.

“Good night, _-chan. Make sure he walks you home, too.” She giggled.

“Rukia!!”

“And also don’t forget to tell me everything tomorrow.”

You grinned, slightly sour. “Sure thing.”

You closed the door behind you and started walking down the corridor back to the exit. When you stepped out you found Shinji still sitting on the stairs, staring into the distance. When he heard the rustle of your kimono, he stood up immediately.

“Yer done being a good friend fer today?”, he said, smirking at you.

“Looks like it, huh?” You didn’t mind it at all, you just wished the Kuchiki mansion wasn’t so far-off from your own home. The two of you started walking down the stairs. An awkward silence occurred. You felt a little bit nervous. Now that you were together again, your legs turned back to feeling wobbly. _This must be because I’m SO tired and SO drun_ _k!_ But somehow you didn’t feel convinced by this thought.

“What’s that smell?” Shinji broke the silence so suddenly you almost fell over your own feet, even though you’ve been staring at them while walking. Now you raised your head in surprise.

“Smell?”

“Yah. Something’s fishy about you.”

“Did you just crack a joke AND insulted me at the same time?”

“Nah. I’m just a curious, naughty boy.” That wicked smile again. You pouted, crossing your arms before your chest.

“I had takoyaki for dinner.”

“Sake and takoyaki, huh.” Shinji smiled, looking at you in amusement. This time his smile was much softer than before. He didn’t look creepy at all anymore. You took the chance to check on his reiatsu again. It was still impressive, but much calmer than before. Maybe he normalized it while you were taking care of Rukia. Or you were just going nuts and imagined the whole situation. You sighed and frowned at him.

“What’s wrong with takoyaki?”

“Ah, nothin’s wrong.”

“Different strokes for different folks, I assume.” You grinned, working up the courage to blow him a kiss, giggling when he raised an eyebrow in distgust. “So you really do not like them.”

“’s just not my cup of tea.”

You couldn’t help it, but a smile crossed your face. Shinji surely was a bit condescending sometimes, a bit intimidating, a bit cocky, a bit flirty (you were not sure about _that_ , though), but all over he was fun to be around. Shinji was the first of the other captains to offer you help with the paperwork, even though he’d been famous for doesn’t liking it that much either. (Momo could tell a thing or two about this.) Sometimes he would just pop up randomly at your office to grab some of the stuff you were working on and hand it back when he finished it for you.

“What yer thinkin’?”, he asked, voice low.

“That I feel spoiled, actually.”

“… okaaay?”

*****

The two of you continued walking past the streets of the Seireitei. You didn’t noticed until now, but he led you straight into the direction where your home was. For a second or two you were wondering why he knew where you lived. He gave you the answer before you could even ask for it.

“Yer always walkin’ past my office when yer headin’ to work, didn’t yer know?”

“I do?” You felt a little bit ashamed, you never went to visit him at his office, actually. It was always Shinji coming over to you.

“Yep. I always know when yer late fer work.”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t know. It’s just that I’ve got so much to do, I’m almost drowning in all these documents Kyouraku-san left for me...” the words bubbled out of your mouth, without pausing for breathe.

“Don’t worry, doll.” Shinji chuckled. “It’s okay. I can still remember how tough it was fer me when I became captain. I ain’t got time fer sleepin’ the first few months. We all got through this. It’s nothin’ to feel sorry ‘bout.” He reached out his hand, patting your head gently.

You blushed a bit. His hand felt so soft.

“Is that why you’re helping me so much?”

Shinji took his hand back, crossing his arms again, knitting his brow. “Maybe so.” He looked directly into your eyes, suspiciously. “Why yer askin’?” His glance at you was so intense that you got goosebumps. The blushing intensified, too. Air hissed between your teeth when you took a deep breath.

“I’m just wondering why you’re always helping me out. Why are you so nice to me?”

“Since when does there have to be a reason to hang out with someone yer like?”

You panted. “You do?!”

Shinji screwed his face up once again, his hand reaching out for you. He grabbed your shoulder, placing his forehead against yours. “Yer can tell that a mile off. How much sake did yer drink again?” His rough voice was music in your ears. A shiver ran down your spine. Shinji was so close. You could see each and every one of his eyelashes.

“N-not that much. At least _I_ didn’t pass out!”, your voice sounded lower than you’ve expected.

“True that.” He laughed softly. 

You felt a little bit hoarse all out of a sudden.

Apparently Shinji had no intention of taking his head off yours. You were sure you both looked weird, standing in the middle of the street, pressing your foreheads against each other. Your body started shivering every time his breath stroke your skin.

“What’s gotten into ya lately?” His voice sounded low-key worried.

 _You_. 

“N-nothing, really. I’m perfectly fine”, you tried to convince him (and yourself!), but your voice proved you a-

 “Liar.”

Shinji gazed into your eyes, and you instantly had butterflies in you stomach.

“Tell me”, he mumbled. Your knees turned into pudding. You knew he wouldn’t let you get off that easily without an explanation.

“Promise you won’t laugh first!”

“I promise.”

You took a deep breath, trying to sound less pathetic this time.

“That Hollow thing of yours bothers me a bit.” That was only half of the story, but at least you didn’t lie this time.

“My Hollow still gives me nightmares, too.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” His grip around your shoulder tightened a little bit.

You moaned, slighty sounding needy.

“T-then stop summoning your mask all out of a sudden! That’s weird!”

“Yer a fine one to talk, saying ambiguous things at least twice a day!” He pouted. It was the cutest thing you’ve seen for ages. Shinji took his hand off your shoulder, just to reach out for your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb gently. You felt aroused, unable to say or do anything but enjoy his warm skin on yours.

“Ain’t yer gonna faint, doll?”

“Don’t tease me.”

“Never ever would I do such thing.” He chuckled, taking his hand off, finally stepping back a bit to give you some space again. “C’mon, let’s go now. It ain’t that far away anymore.”

 ***** 

A few minutes later you found yourself standing in front of your house, thanking Shinji for walking you home, legs still shaky, but definitely feeling more sober than ever. _Can’t even rely on alcohol anymore_. You sighed. While on your way you noticed his office was indeed around the corner.

“My pleasure!” He stepped back, about to strike off.

You opened the frontdoor, ready to get in. Something made you hesitate, though.

“We should do this again” you said, turning back to him. Shinji stopped, looking at you with a mischievous smile.

“What? Carrying yer drunk friend all around the Seireitei?”

“Dude, nooo! I mean-”, you interrupted yourself because he was slowly coming back, inch by inch with every word spoken. “ _What_?”, Shinji asked, firmly. His voice was sin. When he stopped in front of you he was so close you could feel his breath on your skin again.

“I mean I’d like to… hang out with you more often?”

Shinji brushed your forehead with his lips.

“As you wish, _-taicho.”

Hearing him address you with your official title made you shake a little.

“F-fine.”

“Fine.”

Shinji stepped back, offering you his best shit-eating grin.

“Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite!”

“Get lost!” You smirked, waving farewell at him. You then entered your house, closing the door behind you. All the pent-up tension vanished, bringing you to your knees. You layed against the door, breathing heavily.

You finally stood up again and walked over into your bedroom while undressing. You slipped in your pyjama, ready to get a good snatch of sleep. Unfortunately, you were so high on endorphins that you were not able to fall asleep anytime soon.

“Well, that’s a first”, you mumbled, stroking your hair out of your face, ready to spend the whole night reflecting about what just had happened this evening.

“I’m going to be late for work tomorrow for sure.”

*****


	2. Birds And Parrots

As you predicted, you had overslept and were late for work the other day. Rukia didn’t even show up at all. She called in sick. Her captain, Jushiro Ukitake, told you when he entered the meeting room alone. He looked like it was one of his ‘bad days’, so you felt a little bit ashamed for getting Rukia drunk last night. You apologized, promising to take better care of her next time to not cause him trouble again.

Jushiro put you off with a wave of his hand. “It’s all good, thanks to Shunsui I’m used to it somehow”, he answered, making you feel even sorrier for him. You apologized once again and took place next to Tetsuzaemon Iba, captain of the 7th division, and Kensei Muguruma, captain of the 9th. Diagonally across from you Shinji was loafing around his seat, looking already bored of everything. His vice-captain, Momo Hinamori, was sitting next to him, apparently not amused about her captain’s behaviour. When Shinji noticed you were watching him, he naughtily winked at you, smiling from ear to ear. You took your eyes off him, pouting, trying to hide your red glowing cheeks. You decided to ignore him for the rest of the day to prevent you from suffering a heart-attack. At some point you could no longer focus on the meeting, your thoughts wandered off.

Since he started coming over to visit you at your office regularly the crush you already had on him since your early academy days developed further. It got worse lately because, yeah, let’s be honest, you started fantasizing about him sometimes. Finding out about his piercing didn’t make it much better, either. (That was when you first made a fool of yourself in front of him.) Being as close to him as last night felt almost unreal.

You didn’t know where you stand with him. You’ve been to the academy together, yes. Your friendship started there, too, (intensifying since he came to see you every now and then lately) and it made you sick to your stomach when he disappeared for a while after the incident with Sosuke Aizen, leaving no sign of life. You were so thankful to see him alive when he finally came back, taking his place as captain of the 5th again. Also, you were more than aware that he sometimes tended to be a bit flirty. He had always been that way. Nevertheless, you had no idea how to take his actions during the last evening.

“This is freaking me out so fucking much”, you muttered angrily, making Kensei turn his head slowly into your direction, a suspicious look on his face.

“Are you okay, _-san?”

“What?”

You realised you were thinking aloud, feeling a bit flustered discovering that fact. Kensei gazed at you, eyes pinched to some extent. “Daily meetings are tough, huh?” he whispered.

You laughed nervously. “Oh, yeah, haha, sometimes they sure are”, you whispered back, trying to act normal. Shinji was looking at you from his place, seeming a bit upset as if he was wondering what Kensei said to make you laugh. You forbid yourself to pay him further attention and started trying to focus on what Nanao explained in front you.

*****

After the meeting Shinji and Momo went back to the 5th division, straight into their offices, none of them saying a word. Shinji was busy being lost in his thoughts again and Momo just had the feeling it’d be better to stay quiet for a while. Her captain seemed somehow annoyed by something and she had no desire for having it taken out on her.

While she started to get through the notes she had taken during the meeting, Shinji was walking up and down his office, thinking about if he did anything to piss you off. He intended to talk to you right after the meeting, but you left as fast as the wind, making him unable to get a hold of you. That was bothersome. Shinji had the feeling you were trying to avoid him for a second. After he caught you staring at him you ignored him, too. Shinji’s heart started to beat a bit faster when he noticed you blushed a little. It was the purest thing he had seen in a long time. It took him a while to take his eyes off you and pay attention to what was going on in the meeting room.

Time passed as Shinji continued strolling through his office, agonizing over you. He got interrupted when Momo knocked softly at the door frame, apparently wanting to ask something. “Wassup?”, he muttered.

“Uhm, Hirako-taicho, do you think it’s possible for me to finish work quickly and leave the office on time today? Yadoumaru-fukutaicho invited me for dinner this evening, I really would like to go and not be the last one to arrive”, Momo explained. As she mentioned your vice, Shinji turned his head around, starring at her face, his brown eyes glowing.

“Hinamori-san, yer a genius!”

“Excuse me… ?” Momo looked at him, puzzled.

“Geez, why didn’t I think of _that_? Ah, Hinamori-san, yer want to get off early today? Why don’t yer go now?” Momo startled, feeling a bit nervous seeing Shinji’s mood turn upside down all out of a sudden. He was overflowing in exitement, it creeped the fuck out of her.

“Now??”

“Yeah. Yer’ve got permission to leave right now!”

*****

Lisa Yadoumaru was just about to plan the troop’s activities for the next day when she noticed someone sneaking around in front of her office. She raised her head.

“What do you want, Shinji?” the corners of her mouth twitched nervously.

“Lisa-chaaaan”, he purred as she adressed him, casually walking into her office. “How yer doin’ today? Busy with the work of a fukutaicho?” Lisa glared at him.

“That doesn’t draw with me. What do you want?” Shinji pouted, crossing his hands before his chest. He was quite tall and rather slim, Lisa instantly started wondering again if he was one of those few lucky people who could call a high metabolism their own (because she happened to know him eating like a horse.)

“Why yer assumin’ I want somethin’?”

“Because I know you long enough to be able to tell if that’s the case, remember?” She leaned back in her chair, trying to look angry. Shinji offered her the shittiest grin possible, acting all innocent. “Ain’t I got the right to say hello to a good friend?” Lisa snorted contemptuously.

“Where have you been when I needed help with the troops last time?”

“I was busy, yer know.”

“Yeah, busy grabbing your balls all day long.”

“Touché.” Shinji smirked, suddenly looking a bit less clownish. “C’mon Lisa, I really could need yer advice on somethin’.” Lisa raised an eyebrow, doubting it somehow. Shinji was not the type to just casually approach someone for their advice. She noticed he’d been around the 8th division regularly for a while now, having no serious reason at all to do so. Lisa came to the conclusion that Shinji was trying to tow off her captain and she was not sure what to think about that. Since you became her superior, Lisa had gradually become friends with you. Mastering your tasks as captain and vice-captain together it didn’t feel like work at all, so Lisa really enjoyed her daily routine with you. She became a bit upset when Shinji crashed into this routine, randomly showing up at your office, violating everyone’s privacy with that shit-grin on his face. Knowing that you liked him a bit more than you normally do among colleagues, Lisa decided to not interfere anytime soon as long as it wouldn’t affect your daily work life.

She sighed, looking up to Shinji. His smile had vanished from his face, his eyes locked into hers, stubbornly.

“Well then, go ahead”, Lisa muttered, feeling low-key defeated.

“Yer da best, darlin’.”

“I know, _duh_. Now spill the beans!”

Shinji, now quite the bum he used to be again, took a deep breath.

“Ain’t I mistaken or did I screw it up somehow?” His mouth twitched, being a sign for him clicking his piercing against the back of his teeth. Lisa considered this definitely as one of his bad habits. “That depends, but I’m afraid she is indeed not in the mood for talking to you today. What the frick did you do?”

*****

After Shinji shortly reported on last evening, Lisa pulled a pout.

“That explains why she called you a ‘stupid little fucker’ when she came back from the meeting.” Shinji grinned, not upset at all about the insult.

He gazed over to Lisa who still looked like she had bitten on lemons. “Now what’s yer advice on this issue?” he asked.

*****

Lisa swayed her head from left to right, not sure how much information she should reveal at this point. Shinji really acted a little bit reckless in her opinion, despite being aware that you had a soft spot for him.

Wait.

“Are you aware that _-taicho has a soft spot for you, Shinji?”

“...yer kidding me? ‘ the hell should I know?” Shinji frowned. “As for _-san, she’s a closed book to me. Sometimes I can’t even tell if she likes me or if I annoy the shit outta her.”

Lisa smiled, a little bit amused and a little bit worried at the same time. “The way I see it it’s just a communication problem.” She pointed a finger at the fellow vizard towards her. “I know your a versatile man, Shinji, so why don’t you just try to… I don’t know, _slack things off_ for a change? Take it easy, I think she’s slighty irritated because of your - in her eyes - weird behaviour.” Lisa glanced at Shinji, her eyes glowing dead serious. “Don’t you dare to mess with my captain, for I have to mess with you then!”

Shinji put on his wicked smile again, already stepping back to leave Lisa’s office.

“I’ma lookin’ forward to it, darlin’.”

*****

It was already late evening, but you were still sitting in your office, bending over another big bunch of notes Shunsui had left for you. You had trouble getting through them though, since his handwriting tended to be an awful scrawl sometimes. Just as you were trying to decipher another sentence you heard a loud knock at your door. You raised your head, surprised.

“Who is it?”

The door opened, revealing who had visited your office at this ungodly hour.

“Oh, it’s you.” You gulped. Shinji Hirako, vizard, leading captain of the 5th division and jazz loving fool, was casually leaning against the door frame, showing you his famous wicked smile. The dimmed light in the hallway behind him made his blonde hair seem golden. He looked so seductive your mouth got dry suddenly. Feeling a little aroused because of that view, your heart started to beat faster, causing your breathing to be a bit heavier.

_So much for ignoring him for the rest of the day._

“May I come in?”

“Why do you bother asking? You’d come in anyway.”

“Ain’t yer say such thing, that makes me look like a tease, yer know.”

“You really are one sometimes.”

“C’mon, doll”, his voice was as smooth as honey. You sighed.

“Fine.” Shinji grinned and stepped in, closing the door behind him. He walked over and dropped himself in the chair towards you, raising his long legs to place his feet on your desk. How was he able to be so _chill_ after the weird moment the two of you shared? You barely slept last night, rethinking about each and every second of it. Did he mean everything he said, everything he did? Was he just flirting with you for fun? _Was_ he even flirting with you or were he just nice? You were completely baffled. You still felt his grip on your shoulder, his forehead pressed against yours, his thumb gently stroking your cheek,-

“Yer spacin’ out, doll?” His words brought you back down to earth. You looked at him, your eyes widened a little bit. Air hissed between your teeth as you breathed in. “Uhm…”

Shinji chuckled.

“Wassup with ya? Feelin’ the glow again?”

 _He’s such a little shit._ He really seemed to enjoy teasing you, making you feel nervous while he remained calm and incredibly cool.

You tried to pull yourself together despite feeling a tingling sensation all over your body.

“So, Hirako- _taicho_ , how can I help you? Is there any problem?” You emphasized his official title in an exaggerated way, looking straight into his eyes.

“Yer pretty good at changin’ the subject, ain’t yer, doll?”

“And you are pretty good at being a pain in the arse.”

“I ain’t _that_ bad, tho’.”

“Oh yeah? Then tell me? What do _you_ consider yourself good at?” You gazed at him, wearing a sour look on your face. Shinji was puzzled for a second, but found back to himself soon.

“’member I told yer I like to do things the other way ‘round?”

“Yes?”

“I’m good at writing backwards pretty quick. Sometimes when it’s my turn on the weekly reports, I write stuff all mixed up just to fuck with people’s heads.”

“Oh my goodness.”

“If that ain’t good I don’t know what is, then.” He grinned.

“You little dickhead. That was you?! I’ve spend _hours_ decoding that shit”, you panted, feeling low-key pissed. You lost so much precious time you could have used for major problems instead. Shinji’s face was all smiles. “Whoops. Busted, ain’t I?”

You frowned.

“As if my backlog wasn’t bad enough already”, you complained, acting sulky.

“That’s why I came to see yer, actually.”

Shinji took his feet off your desk, raising his upper body, becoming all tense out of a sudden. He took the note laying in front of you, scanning it with his eyes quickly. “Just in time, I assume. Gosh, since Hinamori’s preparin’ the documents fer me I had totally forgotten what a big mess that dude’s handwritin’ is.”

*****

You were protesting, but Shinji insisted on helping you getting through the notes. He grabbed some of the paperwork, spreading it on the floor of your office, waving at you to come over. You hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to him. The two of you bent over the documents, trying to assort them first. When his hand suddenly touched yours (you were both reaching out for the same sheet of paper) Shinji was sure he felt goosebumps on your skin.

“ _Are you aware that _-taicho has a soft spot for you, Shinji?”_

“ _Why don’t you just try to... I don’t know,_ slack things off _for a change?”_

He couldn’t get the conversation with Lisa earlier that day out of his head, still thinking about _what the actual fuck_ she meant by saying you had a ‘soft spot’ for him and he should slack off sometimes. He thought that she could have been more specific in her statement. Shinji starred at the paper in his hand, reading the same sentence for the third time now without understanding it’s meaning, clicking his piercing against the back of his teeth forcefully. It _really_ _was_ one of his bad habits, especially when he was concentrated on something or felt bothered in any way. Both were just the case.

When he offered to help you with Rukia and bring you home afterwards last night he really felt at ease. Since your early academy days walking across the streets of the Seireitei with you had always been kind of soothing. He had to admit to himself he really missed that during his time as a vizard in the world of the living. Maybe that was why he felt the urgent need to spend every moment possible with you, as if he wanted to catch up on what he had missed over the years.

“Uhm, Hirako-san?” Your voice made him raise his head, interrupting his thoughts.

“Hm?”

You were looking helplessly at a sheet of paper. Shinji turned over to you to get a better sight on it. His hair brushed the skin of your cheek when he bent over your shoulder.

“Wassup?”

“This is a wild one. The more I look at it the less sense it makes.” You moaned in despair. Shinji felt slightly turned on by that sound. He gazed at you, biting his lower lip. Your hair fell over your face, your skin shining in the light of your office lamps. You looked extremely tired, Shinji was wondering how many extra hours you pulled recently. His eyes wandered off you, back to the paper you were holding.

“Yer right. That’s a wild one”, he mumbled, his voice sounding more rough than usually. “How ‘bout yer puttin’ this one aside and continue with another? I’ma take care of it later.”

“You really don’t have to do this, you know?”, you mumbled.

“Do what?”

“Spending your leisure helping me out all the time.”

“I know.” Shinji smiled.

“I’m serious. I could come to the idea of taking advantage of you.”

“If it’s you, it’d be a pleasure for me to be exploited.”

The words slipped casually over his lips, but once spoken he got aware _that_ was actually one of the things Lisa had told him to slack off about.

As he glanced over to you, your face starting to look puzzled about his words, Shinji came to the conclusion it was already to late to worry now. He decided the best thing he could do was to take the bull by the horns. He drew his head a little closer to yours, his voice sounded husky when he whispered into your ear.

“How do yer want me, doll?”

*****

At this point you were already too tired to hide your bafflement anymore. You were sure you looked like a drowned rat, eyes all widened up, your mouth a bit open. His lips brushed your skin when he whispered those words into your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. You didn’t dare to move your head into his direction because you were afraid what would have happened then. Instead, you kept on starring on your slightly sweaty hands, nervously nibbling at your nails. Like last night, being this close to him felt rather unreal.

“Excuse me..?”, you finally managed to whisper. You could hear him breathe in heavily next to you, his chest pressed against your back. “Just for the record, are we still talking about the notes?”, you asked, a last attempt of trying to play it cool. Shinji laughed hoarsely, his breath felt hot on your skin. Something bubbled in his voice when he finally answered.

“What did yer think I was talkin’ about?”

*****

 _Geez_ , he didn’t sound like himself at all. His voice trembled for a second. Shinji coughed slightly. He couldn’t help himself any longer and waved his arms around you, drawing your body even closer to his, giving you a tight hug. He pressed his head against yours, closing his eyes as he started to inhale the sweet scent of your hair. Shinji assumed you’ve had taken a shower in the morning, since it smelled different than last night. He started playing with a strand of your hair, curling it around his long fingers, amazed on the fact of how soft it felt.

“Hirako-san...”

“A little bird told me yer’ve got a soft spot fer me. That true?” He looked at you, his eyes all dark again, his lips twitching as he obviously was amused.

“S-so what?”, you gasped, somewhat feeling exposed. “I-It’s a common thing to have a crush on your ‘senpai’, you know” Shinji chuckled and pressed his lips against your hair again.

Your kimono had become quite messy, the fabric slipped a little bit off your shoulder. Shinji lowered his head. The smell of your body made him feel aroused, his eyes flickering for a second at the sight of your exposed skin. Shinji wondered what would happen if he’d give in the temptation and get a taste of that.

*****

“Hirako- _taicho_.” He seemed to be spacing out somehow, but your voice brought him back to reality. You felt his lips brushing gently over your hair as he answered.

“At yer service.”

“I have absolutely no idea what’s gotten into you suddenly, and as much as I enjoy it, if you keep on clinging to me like this we’ll never be finished with the paperwork”, you tried to sound calm, but he was so close you could feel his chest rising and falling with every breath he had taken. Shinji moved away from you a bit, cupping your cheek with his palm, turning your head towards his face softly. His gaze at you was intense, his brown eyes seemed to darken up a little. “Say that again.”

You blinked in surprise. “I said, we’ll never finish the paperwork like that.” Shinji pulled a grimace, apparently not happy about your reply. He smirked at you, stroking a strand of your hair out of your face before he finally leaned back.

“That’s not what I wanted to hear from yer, kitten”, he muttered.

“I know”, your lips twitched, grinning nervously. Again you were not sure how to feel about what had happened just now. But even though it threw you off track, _damn_ , that felt _so_ good! His body against yours, his smell. You shuddered at the thought of what his voice sounded like when he whispered into your ear. _I really enjoyed that._

Shinji looked like he was about to say something, but you pulled him off with a wave of your hand, frowning at him. You had no intension of letting him win this time.

“Forget it. I’m not a parrot, I won’t repeat myself again.” Rukia would have been proud of you. _Sorry, Ukitake-san, I might need another girls’ night out sooner or later._ You took the note off the ground you dropped earlier when he had wrapped his arms around you. It seemed you had to pull an all-nighter again. You sighed, gazing at Shinji who leaned on the floor, casually as ever, resting on his elbows, showing off his usual wicked smile again. As your eyes met his, his smile turned into a much softer one

“I suppose we finish things fer today. Yer lookin’ like yer about to doze of any second.”

*****

When Shinji arrived at home later that night he suddenly felt the urgent need to take a cold shower. While heading to the bathroom he threw his zanpakuto into his living room, starting to remove his clothes afterwards. Shinji arrived at the bathroom fully undressed and entered the shower cabinet. When he finally felt the water hailing down his slim body, he couldn’t help himself but sigh deeply as he remembered how close to him you were this time.

“Lisa definetely will give me shit fer this.”


	3. An Unfair Advantage

When you woke up earlier that morning it was still dark outside. Nevertheless you could here the birds sing as they announced a new day was about to start. You lifted your body a little bit, wiping the sleep off your eyes. It took you a moment until you were completely awake. Once the spirits had returned to you, you instantly became aware of what had happened last night.

“ _How do yer want me, doll?”_

You still felt a little bit hot remembering his words and actions. _Gosh!_ You considered yourself a grown-ass woman but Shinji had a talent for making you feel like an inexperienced teenage girl in no seconds.You shivered at the thought of how close he had been to you once again. The warmth of his body next to yours, his smell... Though his touchy-feely behaviour seemed a bit different than usually, like his hug felt a little bit too tight (he had hugged you before, but this time it was more... possessive) and you heard his voice tremble once or twice while he was whispering all that sexy stuff into your ears. The same applied for his breathing which sounded a little heavier than it normally did.

 _Wait_.

Your hands clung into your blanket, remembering what his reaction was like when you jokingly scolded him for interrupting your work-flow.

_“That’s not what I wanted to hear from yer, kitten.”_

You gulped. “This might be a daring thought, but...”

It took you a while to pull yourself together and leave the warm coziness of your sheets, heading to the bathroom to get yourself ready for the day. While you were brushing your teeth you decided today was a good day to finally take advantage of the privileges the job as a captain had to offer. Once you left the bathroom you aimed for the nightstand next to your bed, grabbing the communication device laying on top of it.

 

> \- Good morning Yadoumaru-san. I think I won’t make it to work today, I feel a bit off. Can you cover for me in the meeting?
> 
> \- Good morning, _-taicho! Sure thing. Are you okay, though?

You hesitated for a second before you replied to that question. 

 

> \- Yah, I’ll be fine. See you soon!

*****

Since some weird Hollow activities started to occur a while ago Shunsui Kyouraku had decided to hold meetings at a daily basis to make sure everyone was fully updated on the case. He tried to keep them short though as they bothered him himself. Frankly speaking, everyone was quite tired already because the investigations seemed to be stuck somewhere. Everyone except for Shinji Hirako, captain of the 5th division, for whom the meetings happened to be much more fun recently. He usually would ditch them from time to time, making his vice Momo Hinamori go instead, but since _meeting_ became equally to _seeing_ _you_ he was kind of eager to participate himself. He didn’t remember exactly when it started but his feelings towards you had changed a lot into a more affectionate direction recently. He felt somewhat hungy for your attention. So even in troublesome times the meetings gave him the chance to see you for at least 30 minutes a day (as that was the time it took for Shunsui to finally space out, whereupon Nanao would declare the meeting to be over.)

Shinji arrived a bit earlier that day, walking down the hallways kind-of light-hearted as he couldn’t wait to see _yer damn pretty face_ again.

An annoyed growl escaped his throat as he entered the meeting room, feeling a bit startled to see Lisa Yadoumaru had taken your place today. Shinji walked over to her, frowning.

“What _yer_ doin’ here?”, he grumped, not even trying to hide his disappointment.

“I’m just keeping up with my duties as a vice-captain, you know”, she responded politely.

“Why tho’?” You were quite ambitious about your work as a captain. Since the position was given to you nothing ever stopped you from partaking in meetings, not even the bad cold you caught a while ago so Shinji wondered why you would send Lisa out of a sudden.

“My captain felt a bit off, so she asked me to cover for her.”

“She felt a bit _what_?” Shinji muttered, apparently not satisfied with that vague answer. He was about to ask for more information but Lisa cut him off. “A bit off. As in ‘uneasy’. As in ‘unwell’. Now, shoo!”, she responded, pointing forward as Shunsui and Nanao had just entered the meeting room, ready to make everyone waste another 30 minutes of their precious time again. When Shunsui noticed her a big smile crossed his face. “Lisa-chan! Long time no see! What are you doing here? Covering for your captain today?”

Lisa nodded. “Good morning! Yes, my captain felt a bit unwell, that’s why I’m here.” They continued their little small-talk for a while, making Shinji sigh in despair as he already was in a bad mood. He moved over to his seat, dropping himself there, slightly frustrated. Except for seeming a bit tired you’ve been perfectly fine when he left you last evening. _What the fuck’s goin’ on here?_

Shinji’s eyes wandered across the room as Nanao started to briefly inform everyone about the latest information Soifon and her team gathered (spoiler: they did not gather anything at all), when he suddenly noticed Jushiro Ukitake had sent his vice-captain today, too. Rukia had taken over his seat, giving Shinji a suspicious look when she felt his eyes focused on her. He stared at her, still frowning for a second before showing off that famous evil grin of his.

_Wassup, boozer?_

He actually didn’t say that out loud, but Rukia understood anyway, glaring at him while pressing her lips together, apparently slightly feeling sour. She raised her hand a little, moving her fingers in a certain way to tell him to fuck off.

*****

Lisa intentionally wanted to leave the meeting room as soon as possible to avoid getting her nerves wrecked again, but Shinji caught her before she could sneak her way out of the 1st division.

“Hey, Lisa. _Yadoumaru_! Wait a sec!” A deep-drawn sigh escaped her throat as she turned around. Shinji planted himself in front of her, crossing his arms before his chest.

“What did yer mean, uneasy? What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know.”

“… yer shittin’ me?” Shinji glared at her.

“No?” Lisa sighed again. He was such a nag. He wouldn’t let her go without an explanation. He tended to be awfully persistent sometimes. Unfortunately Lisa was not in the mood to have a showdown with him today, so she pulled him off with a wave of her hand.

“Why do you bother anyway, I bet it’s all your fault.” She intended to make it sound jokingly when she replied, but Shinji startled for a second. Lisa gulped. _Oh no_.

An awkward silence occurred. The others had already left, aiming for their divisions. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Shinji and Lisa were still standing in the hallway in front of the meeting room, facing each other warily.

While she was still in her office earlier that morning, preparing everything she thought she would need for the meeting, Lisa suddenly had a bad feeling about you taking a day off spontaneously. She was used to cover for her captain when she was working for Kyouraku back then, but since you were her superior she didn’t even came close to the meeting room at all anymore. The bad feeling got worse when she overheard a conversation between two officers walking past the open door of her office.

“Hirako-taicho shows up a lot here recently, doesn’t he?”

“You noticed, too?”

“Yeah. I heard he helps _-taicho with the paperwork Kyouraku-taicho left for her.”

“Wow, that’s nice.”

“The night watch also told me he left pretty late last night.”

“Must have been a lot of paperwork.”

“Yeah… _paperwork_.” They laughed as they went off.

Lisa gulped. She had a dinner engagement with Momo last evening which was why she left her office earlier than she normally would have, so she didn’t know until now that Shinji came to see you again. Lisa remembered the face he made when he paid her a visit yesterday afternoon.

“ _Don’t you dare to mess with my captain, for I have to mess with you then.”_

“ _I’ma looking forward to it, darlin’.”_

“Shinji, please,... don’t tell me you have anything to do with it.” Lisa tried to remain calm, but her voice sounded an octave higher than usually when she finally found it again. Her muscles became all tense, her grip around the book she was carrying tightened, making the knuckles of her hands pop up.

“I told you to slack things off, not to rush them over!” She was almost shouting now.

“Don’t yell at me, woman. Just so yer know, I didn’t do anything lewd yet if that’s what yer implyin’”, Shinji muttered, pulling a long face. Lisa wondered for a second if she should just laugh the situation off, though she rather felt like slapping Shinji with her notebook.

“Dammit, Hirako”, she whispered, her voice was nothing but an awful growl, the fact that she addressed him with his last name a sign for she was about to lose her temper. "What, for fuck’s sake, is wrong with you?!”

*****

You spent the whole morning lazing around your living room, doing nothing but to enjoy your day off. You would find yourself starring through the window at the rising of the sun, amazed by how beautiful nature could be sometimes. You even dozed off on your sofa once or twice, but you didn’t care. It was around lunchtime when your communication device beeped into the silence. You reached out for it, discovering you had two unread messages.

 

> \- Where on earth are you??

Both were from Rukia. She must have sent the first one around that time the meeting had started today. Apparently she had to cover for her captain, too. You looked at the second message, your lips twitched as you started reading it. 

 

> \- I’m just back from the meeting and all I want to know is how you are able to bear with this dude all the time.

Your fingers flew over the keys of your device. 

 

> \- Easy one: I can’t. That’s why I took a day off. I can’t focus like this.
> 
> \- I feel you! Gosh, he really is the biggest tease of them all.

You laughed silently.

 

> \- What did he do?
> 
> \- Let’s just say he was a bit too disappointed about your absence.

You starred at your device, biting your lower lip nervously.

 

> \- He was upset because I didn’t show up?
> 
> \- Apparently. He annoyed Lisa-san and called me a boozer.

You laughed. That was just like him. You threw your device one the floor, crossing your arms behind your head, ready to doze off for a third time that day.

Time passed as a loud stomach growl interrupted the silence in your living room, waking you up as if to remind you of the fact you didn’t eat anything until now. You finally got off the sofa, walking into your bedroom as you decided it was time to change into a more suitable outfit, grabbing the very first piece of clothing you could reach as you opened your wardrobe. You wrapped yourself into a light blue Yukata, tying your hair up into a messy bun above your neck.

You walked over to the market stall which sold those awfully delicious onigiri. You left your house with the intention to grab some food first, heading to the 4th division afterwards to let Kotetsu-san take a look on your back since it started to hurt more frequently the last few days. You arrived at the stall, buying two onigiri with different fillings, munching on them as you continued walking down the street. It was really chilly outside, but the sun shining down from an almost cloudless bright sky made it somehow endurable. 

You arrived at the point where the street would branch into different directions. You hesitated for a second. To get to the barracks of the 4th division you would have to continue walking straight down the street, but you decided to turn right instead.

It didn’t take long until the quarters of the 5th division came into sight across the street. Your heart started to beat a bit faster as you approached the building where Shinji’s office was in. You slowed down, gazing over to the windows where you supposed his room was. Apparently the sun had bothered him a bit, the curtains where half drawn, but you could still see Shinji sitting on his desk, looking at a sheet of paper Momo had just given to him, making a face in annoyance.

You wondered if you could work up the courage to crash into his office the same way he would crash into yours as he suddenly rose to his feet. You startled.

*****

It was already late afternoon. Shinji just decided to leave the quarters of the 5th division, wearing Sakanade on his belt again (when arriving at work he would throw it into the next corner because “ain’t yer tellin’ me someone is dumb enough to sneak into here, attacking me all outta sudden”) when he noticed a familiar face sneaking around across the street in front of his office while leaving it. Since you didn’t show up in the meeting earlier in the morning he had been a bit grumpy throughout the whole day, especially after Lisa told him you wouldn’t come to work, either (he was already annoyed of himself because, _geez, Shinji, why yer so needy?!_ ) but now his mood lightened up instantly at the sight of your delicate features. Shinji gulped. You were casually wearing a light blue Yukata, your hair tied up loosely above your neck, exposing the skin of it. Shinji spaced out for a second, remembering exactly what your neck smelled like. A bit sweet (a hint on the perfume you used?), a bit fruity (was that your shampoo?), but mostly it was just _you_.

“Yo, doll!” Shinji walked over the street, trying to sound as smooth as possible as he approached you. You turned your head in surprise. Shinji loved that puzzled look on your face, even more when he was the reason for it. It was the most enchanting view he could think of.

“Yer waitin’ fer me?”

But instead of answering his question you turned on your heel and started to rush off immediately. It happened so suddenly it took Shinji a moment to let it sink in.

“Uhhh, what the…?” He blinked as he watched you run away. Before he could think twice he found himself chasing after you.

*****

Just to make it clear, you didn’t intend to run away in the first place. It was a malfunction of your brain, a knee-jerk reaction as Shinji made you speechless once again, offering you that gorgeous wicked smile of his. _God, why did he have to be so handsome?_

“Stop running, I’ma take yer down anyway”, he shouted, raising his hand above his head. You turned your head, gasping as you noticed how close he already was. While still running after you, Shinji summoned his mask all out of a sudden, shortening the distance between the two of you immediately. You ran as fast as you could. You were almost flash-stepping, trying not to overrun the people around you as Shinji was right behind you, chasing you through the streets of the Seireitei. You had quite a high stamina, but so did he. His Hollow powers allowed him to recover pretty quick, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed, which was why he was about to outrun you any second for sure.

 _What an unfair advantage!_  You already had stitches in your sides, feeling a little bit exhausted from all that running and overacting.

A knot of people suddenly blocked your way as you were trying to escape into the side street to your left. You startled for a second, glancing over your shoulder to keep an eye on your follower. Shinji took the opportunity to reach out for you, his mask fading into nowhere, his hand grabbing the soft fabric of your Obi. “Gottcha!” You tried to flee, but lost your balance, stumbling over your own feet. Someone shrieked. You couldn’t remember later if it was you or one of the passers-by.

The two of you hit the ground.

A sudden pain in your back made you see stars for a brief moment. Air hissed between your teeth as you breathed in, opening your eyes just to find Shinji laying between your thighs, bending over you. He caged you with his elbows, pinning you down on the dusty street.

Seeing him a bit sweaty and out of breath like this, his brown eyes half-lidded, his mouth slightly open, it made your thoughts wander off for a second. You’ve never seen him messed up like that, so Shinji being the opposite of his usual cool and smooth self was definitely a first for you. “Sorry, doll”, he said, ignoring the muttering crowd, his eyes locked into yours, “but I won!” He panted heavily as he still tried to regain a regular breathing.

“When did we decide to hold a race?”, you moaned, your voice sounded a little shaky. You were unsure what the reason for that was – the ache in your back or the slight figure of the man laying above you. “I was just running because you chased me!”, you pouted, clearly lying here.

“Ain’t that a race, though?” When he left his office before Shinji seemed a bit gloomy, but now he was all smiles again. He leaned back a little, lending you a hand to lift yourself into a more sitting position. A deep sight escaped your throat as Shinji rose to his feet, dragging you along with him. “Let’s get outta here, doll.” He pulled you away from the crowd, leading you into a tiny side alley. He was still holding your hand, his fingers woven into yours. His grip felt soft and tight at the same time. Shinji squeezed your hand softly, stroking the back of it with his thumb. A warm feeling flooded your body, electrifying you from head to toe, making you squeeze his hand, too. Your took the chance and let your eyes wander up and down his slim figure. His displaced fringe attached to his slightly sweaty forehead, covering half of his left eye. His cravat had become a bit loose, the pin of it slightly askew. Actually his whole uniform was a mess, his Haori had already slipped off his shoulder. As if he felt your eyes on him Shinji suddenly turned his head into your direction, wearing his best shit-eating grin.

“We seem to have a tendency to end down on our knees, ain’t we?”

“I have to admit I do see a pattern here.” You couldn’t help but smile.

_He really is one of a kind._

“You like to rush things over, don’t you?” Shinji laughed silently. “Maybe so… Lisa said something similar, too.”

“Lisa?” You blinked in surprise as he mentioned that name.

“Yeah, well… she told me to slack off too but I guess ‘s just not ma style.” He chuckled amusedly. You stopped dead in your tracks, forcing Shinji to stop walking too as he was still holding your hand. You gazed at him, eyes wide open.

“Yadoumaru Lisa-san?” you asked suspiciously.

He nodded.

“Wait.”

*****

Your gaze at him was so intense, Shinji felt his blood boil again. You needed a while to process the information you just gathered. You’ve been a smart woman, but Shinji noticed you tended to be _such a slowpoke_ sometimes. It always amused him to almost see steam coming off your ears when something bothered you. Shinji couldn’t surpress a giggle anymore and drew you closer, still not letting go of your hand. You bumped against his chest, panting in surprise. He slid his spare hand into your neck, his palm cupping the back of your head. You sighed, your breath stroking the skin of his chest where his displaced uniform exposed it. It sent a shiver down Shinji’s spine.

“… Lisa is the little bird, then?” you muttered against his slightly messy kosode.

“Uh-huh”, he whispered, trying unsuccessfully to surpress a moan as he could feel your lips on his body through the fabric. He was ticklish to some extent but at this point he didn’t mind the prickling sensation spreading all over his body.

*****

You looked up at the sound he just made, utterly surprised, but he turned his head away from yours, starring into the opposite direction, screwing up that pretty face of his once again as if he was ashamed that he moaned before. You could have been mistaken, but you were sure you just noticed a little hint of red on his cheeks.

“You’re blushing!”

“I am not.” Shinji starred at you from under his crooked fringe, his upper teeth showing as he pulled a face. You moved your head a bit closer towards him to get a better sight of his face, your lips twitched in amusement as he drew his head further from yours in embarrassment, verifying your assumption with that move. You remembered what Rukia said about him before during the conversation you had two days ago.

“ _Did it never cross your mind that he might be doing this because he doesn’t want you to see him blushing?”_

“Won’t you summon your mask again, Hirako-san?”

“… cooldown”, he mumbled, finally turning his head back towards you. You already were so close to him that his nose brushed yours. He grinned at you, almost coming back to his normal cool and arrogant self. His cheeks were still a bit reddish,though.

“And by the way, doll... save that polite shit fer someone else.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yer heard me. Shinji’s just fine.”


	4. Busy Hands

A bit later that day you found yourself sitting on a park bench next to Shinji, near that place where your little race with him had come to an abrupt end, each of you holding a cup of water in their hands which Shinji had bought at a small store around the corner. The sun was about to set soon so you tried to enjoy the last remaining strains of warm light shining on your face as you watched the people bustling around the streets busily. You laid your eyes on your cup, spinning it in your hand slowly, still a bit flustered about how casual Shinji had just offered you to switch on first name terms when he suddenly leaned over into your direction, looking at you with an awfully curious face.

“Say, doll… Why did yer sneak around ma office, huh?”

“Uhm…” Your eyes wandered off your cup, over to him. Good question. You had no idea why you decided to do so either, since you intentionally took the day off to avoid him because you felt the need to recover a bit from what had happened between the two of you recently. _So much for that, huh?_ Furthermore, you were on your way to visit the 4th division to get your aching back treated, but apparently the hidden desire to see him was big enough to lead you into another direction.

… _the hidden desire to see him. Oh Gosh, so cheesy!_

You gazed at him a little longer. Just like yourself Shinji hadn’t bothered about his dishevelled appearance, yet. His Haori still looked like it was about to slide off, his Hakama was a bit dirty where it had come in contact with the ground. Shinji’s hair had become a bit messy, too, his fringe revealed his left eye as he had lowered his head before. Your dared to take a closer look at his face. Shinji still had his eyes fixed on you, his mouth formed into a gentle smile. Your gaze caught his lips, wondering if they would taste what they looked like.

“Doll?” His purring voice brought you back into reality.

“Uhm...”, you gulped, tearing your eyes off Shinji’s lips, trying to pull yourself back together. You nervously turned the cup in your hands a bit faster.

“I was on my way to see Kotetsu-taicho…?”

“Yer’d have to go into the opposite direction for that, though.” His smile changed into a much more cheeky one as he continued.

“Speakin’ of Isane… yer don’t look sick at all to me, to be honest.” Shinji looked at you provocatively, his lips twitching in amusement. His gaze at you felt hot on your skin.

“Sick?”

“Yeah. Lisa said yer didn’t feel well in the mornin’, that’s why yer’d stay at home today.”

“Oh.” You startled, you had almost forgotten about that. The whole situation had already turned completely absurd again, you didn’t bother to consider the fact you told Lisa you ‘wouldn’t make it to work because you felt a bit off’ could have made her translate it into ‘my captain called in sick’. You looked back at your hands, nervously playing with the cup you were still holding. Meanwhile, Shinji’s smile had changed into his well-known signature-grin.

“Wait a minute, doll… did yer ditch work today?”

“Well, I… uhm… actually,...” you stammered, blushing again as you tried to talk your way out of this situation somehow when you heard a silent chuckle next to you. You turned your head in surprise. Shinji’s body trembled as he tried to suppress a laughter, pressing his palm over his lips. His eyes were already starting to glaze over. You pouted, a puzzled look showed on your face, but your lips formed a smile too. You still felt busted, but him trying not to burst into laughter made up for it somehow.

“Stop being a tease, Hirako-san.”

“Ah, ah, doll.” He finally managed to calm down a bit and sighed with relief, laying back on the park bench, giving himself a good stretch. He gazed over to you and started chuckling again as he looked at your still puzzled face.

“I told yer to drop that, ain’t I?”

*********

“Yeah, well, that’s it.” You shrugged your shoulders as you just finished your report. Rukia looked at you in disbelief, still processing the information you just delivered. The two of you were casually sitting on the sofa in your office, sharing a bunch of the onigiri you loved so much. When you woke up today morning you already had a message from Rukia, telling you she would visit you at your office after work so you decided to buy some food for your ‘date’ during your lunch break. You would avoid to buy some sake, though, to prevent Jushiro developing a grudge on you.

It had been a rather eventless day so far. Lisa had already prepared everything for the meeting when you arrived at work, looking quite relieved when you entered her office.

“_-taicho! Are you feeling better today?”

“Yes, thank you. Sorry if I caused you trouble.”

“Oh no, it’s fine. This is my job, remember? I’ve always got your back!” Lisa pushed up her glasses, smiling at you sincerely. A warm feeling flooded your body once again, this time because you really felt lucky to have Lisa working with you.

You knew she had been captain of the 8th division for a while herself, though it was just on a temporary basis. You still wondered why Shunsui decided to re-staff the position, promoting you as the new captain with Lisa as your vice. You felt quite nervous when you started, afraid she would be mad at you for ‘taking the job off her’, but after a while you noticed those fears were unsubstantiated. Lisa was the embodiment of a vice-captain, helping you out a lot while you got used to your new job, comforting you when you felt down because of the immense workload you had to master. Actually the two of you had become even closer when you discovered you both liked to read a lot a short time ago. You started to pop up at her office during lunchtime sometimes just to have some little chat about the books you’ve been reading recently while sharing your food with each other.

“Thank you for being my vice-captain, Yadoumaru-san.” You gazed at Lisa, returning the smile. Lisa startled for a second. Surprisingly she blushed a little bit, pushing her glasses up her nose once again.

“You’re welcome, _-taicho.”

The meeting went over without special incidents. You allowed yourself to gaze over to Shinji’s place from time to time, but he looked as cool as ever, slouching on his seat with an annoyed look on his face. His lips twitched from time to time, but apart from that he looked like as if nothing ever happened between the two of you.

After the meeting you had a schooling with the troops scheduled which was pretty successful. The Shinigami working at your division were quite eager to learn all the little tricks you showed them, therefore the schoolings always were fun since everyone was along for the ride in exitement. Even though your aching back still bothered you a bit you allowed your subordinates to hit you once or twice to motivate them further. It was late afternoon when you decided to finish the lesson for today. You waved them farewell.

“Thank you for today, guys!”

“Thank you, too, _-taicho!”

When you arrived at your office Rukia was already waiting for you, having a little chat with Lisa about vice-captain related stuff; you couldn’t remember what it exactly was. Though she seemed perfectly fine before, the moment the two of you entered your office Rukia became all tense out of a sudden, almost bursting with curiosity as she dragged you over to the sofa.

“Now tell me! What did I miss? I want to know every little detail!”

That was three hours ago. It took you until now to explain everything. Rukia listened to your report carefully. She remained quiet, except for some “Oh!”s and “Ah!”s sometimes.

You watched Rukia as she was just grabbing another onigiri, wearing her thinking-face again. She unwraped the food, looking at it for a second.

“… seriously, I told you so”, she then mumbled, biting a bit of the onigiri off. You nodded slowly, understanding what she was referring to. Yesterday Shinji had indirectly confirmed what Rukia had already suspected before when you finally managed to make him blush.

“ _Won’t you summon your mask again, Hirako-san?”_

“ _...cooldown.”_

So he really had blushed before, too, just as Rukia had assumed. _You little cheater, what a sly trick._ Nonetheless you couldn’t help but smile as you remembered (again that day, _ehem_ ) what he looked like back then – his pretty face all screwd up as he turned his head away from yours in embarrassment, the skin of his cheek turning a little reddish. The sound of his voice when he moaned had made your legs a bit wobbly. Shinji looked extremely hot in that moment.

“_-chan?”

You sighed, poking the food in front of you with your finger before grabbing it, unsure if you should unwrap it or not, still lost in your thoughts. Rukia wiped some crumbs off her lips and watched you play with the onigiri for a while before she raised her voice again.

“_-chan?”, she repeated, leaning a bit towards you. You raised your head, feeling caught in the act. Your cheeks once again turned slightly pink.

“Huh?” you mumbled. Rukia starred at you with a knowing look on her face, smiling as if she had just read your thoughts.

“He’s messing with your head pretty much lately, hm?”

“Yeah, well...” You turned the onigiri in your hands the same way you did with your cup the day before. You felt like you needed something to keep your hands busy. Rukia still smiled at you, though she was wearing a much more serious look on her face now as she took the onigiri off your hands.

“Could you please stop playing with the food?” You nodded, wrapping your arms around your legs instead, looking at her as she leaned back in a more comfortable position. Her eyes locked into yours, lightening up enthusiastically.

“So… first name terms already, huh?” She laughed perkily as your cheeks turned even more rosy at her words. You nodded slightly.

*********

Though you might have thought Shinji stayed rather calm in the meeting the truth was he was trying his best to maintain a pokerface throughout the whole time. He even entered the conference room at the last moment possible because he wanted to avoid any weird and awkward smalltalk, causing Nanao to glare at him displeased as she was just about to open the meeting when he crashed into it. He mumbled an apology and slid on his seat, forbidding himself to look at you as it would ruin his pokerface immediately.

Shinji felt a bit flustered because you managed to make him blush again without him having any chance to hide it this time. He had discovered his mask came in pretty handy for situations like these, but unfortunately it happened to be on cooldown that moment thanks to that spontaneous little race he had with you before. Shinji still was amazed by the fact of how easy it was for you to make him chase you through Seireitei, an utterly odd behaviour for two captains of the Gotei 13. Shinji had to suppress a smile. It was a lot of fun, though, a welcome change actually.

After the meeting, back at his office Shinji had been trying to work on some reports, though he couldn’t concentrate properly as his thoughts kept wandering off every now and then. He caught himself starring into nowhere for minutes, the silence in his office laying heavy on him as the only thing he was able to focus on was you.

Since yesterday Shinji felt somewhat restless, somewhat _half-baked_. He couldn’t get the look on your face out of his head. Your cheeks had been a bit reddish from all that running, your breathing was a bit shaky, your hair bun even messier than before. Shinji shivered at the remembrance of that view.

“Ahhhh...”, he sighed, yawning boredly as he looked down on the documents in front of him, deciding to go for a walk during lunchtime to clear his mind since he felt like he would go insane otherwise.

*****

“Yadoumaru-san, I’m going out to grab some food, you want to come with me?” Lisa took her eyes off the report she had just written, looking at you in surprise. You leaned against the door frame of her office, gazing at her encouraging, waiting for a reply.

“Is it time for lunch already?”

“Uh-huh.” Lisa’s eyes wandered off you, back to the documents. She had been working on them the whole morning. The fact she was Shunsui’s vice-captain back then helped a lot to get rid of the chaos he left for you. She was used to that pretty mess he called a ‘handwriting’. Lisa had been so immersed in her work she hadn’t noticed how much time had passed since you left her office in the morning.

“ _Thank you for being my vice-captain, Yadoumaru-san.”_

Lisa really didn’t expect such an honest expression of gratitude all out of the blue. She felt a bit perplex, to be honest. Nevertheless she was happy to hear you appreciated her hard work. (She even blushed a bit which made her feel even more embarrassed.)

A silent growl of her stomach made Lisa finally move, pushing her glasses back on her nose, leaving her desk to walk over to you.

“Grabbing some food sounds like a real good idea right now!”

Lisa was a bit surprised to hear you wanted to walk all the way over to that certain onigiri selling market stall. She looked at you, a bit flustered regarding the fact that stall was in the neighbourhood of the quarters of the 5th division. Coincidence or not, it made Lisa hesitated for a second before she raised her voice as the two of you were slowly walking down the streets.

“Is the food really worth the bother?” she asked suspiciously, and with ‘bother’ she meant the possibility to meet Shinji rather than walking the whole way to get some rice balls. You vehemently nodded, having no idea about Lisa’s hidden concerns.

“Definitely, yes. I’ll buy you one, too.”

“Ah! No, you don’t have to...” Lisa hastened to say, but you put her off. You took your arm into hers, dragging her further down the street.

“No back talk, Yadoumaru-san. Let me buy you food. This is an order from your captain.” Lisa looked puzzled for a second, but then she smiled.

“Aye-aye, _-taicho.”

While you have been chatting with the salesman, haggling over the chance to get some discount on the onigiri Lisa had walked a bit closer to a nearby market stall which sold books. She couldn’t help it. Books were her guilty pleasure, the thicker the better. Back then during her time in the world of the living Lisa had happened to get to know a bunch of different media, and she loved reading all of them (specifically everything related to Josei genre, she really fell for that stuff.) This one over here was not quite her taste after all but nevertheless it took Lisa’s attention because the wrapper looked pretty nice. She was already about to bend over to take a closer look at the book as she heard a familiar voice behind her calling her name, making her hesitate immediately.

“Yo, Lisa.”

*****

Shinji had been strolling around the neighbourhood for a while now, still feeling unsettled. He intended to get some food in the first place when he left his office for lunch break, but decided to just walk around the quarters instead because he didn’t feel hungry at all. At least it was not food he was craving for. He had an appetite for something completely different.

Shinji was just about to walk into the next side street as he suddenly noticed Lisa in front of a book selling market stall across the street, bending over the products they offered. He stopped dead in his tracks, turning his head in surprise to take a second look. Maybe his eyes malfunctioned.

_What is she doin’ here?_

Shinji switched directions straightaway and started walking towards his fellow vizard friend.

“Already spending yer wage before yer even earned it?”, he teasingly asked as he approached her. Lisa startled for a brief moment as he addressed her so casually. She turned around, looking at him with an obviously unpleasant look on her face.

“Oh look, it’s you again. What are you doing here? Haunting me?”

“… yer aware this is my yard, ain’t yer? I’m supposed to be here”, he responded kind of amused, smirking at her as she pulled a pout.

“Save it, Shinji.” Lisa crossed her arms before her chest, gazing at him with one of her brows raised to some degree. She seemed slightly unhappy to see him. Shinji assumed she was still a bit mad because he didn’t listen to her when she told him to slack things off with you. Good thing she didn’t seem to know about the little race yet. He observed she had become a little more tense than usually since he approached her, though. Shinji examined her from head to toe.

“… yer okay?” he asked suspiciously.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking. Now, back off.” Lisa gazed over her shoulder, looking a bit nervous as if she was afraid someone could see them.

“What the-?”

“Back off”, she repeated firmly, trying to shoo him away with a wave of her hand, turning around again afterwards to take another look over her shoulder. Shinji felt quite stunned as she interrupted him so sudden. He moved his head a bit to see what could have made Lisa feel uncomfortable. He startled, his heart beat a bit faster as he noticed you in front of another nearby market stall. You were trying to make the salesman give you a discount on the food you were about to buy, but the man seemed to be tough as nails. Shinji wondered for a second why you would need such a huge amount of rice balls, though. He turned back to Lisa, his eyes widened a bit in surprise.

“Uhm, Lisa, what-”, he tried to say, but she interrupted him once again.

“You’re causing me so much trouble, you know? There’s already rumours because of your nightly visits”, Lisa hissed. Her gaze at him had become even more annoyed.

“Uhm, I… _what_?” Shinji was confused. How did she know he left your office late at night when she had a dinner engagement with Hinamori that day? Lisa didn’t even return to the office afterwards. She gave the answer before he could even ask for it.

“Don’t try to deny it, the nightwatch said you left pretty late the day before yesterday.”

“… looks like yer have some blatant beasts over there in the 8th, ain’t yer?” Shinji snarled. “I told yer already I didn’t do anything lewd yet, ‘member?”

“ _Yet_?”, Lisa huffed angrily.

“Well...”, a weak smile slid over Shinji’s lips as he answered, “I guess I wouldn’t say no to that, though.” He smirked, a slightly pensive look appeared on his face. “I’d hit it.” His lips twitched in amusement as Lisa’s face turned a little reddish at his blunt words, though she still seemed to be upset. Apparently he made her speechless. Shinji took the chance and gazed over to you. The salesman looked like he was about to give in any second.

… _feel yer, bro’. The lass is hard to resist._

Shinji let his eyes wander up and down your body, instantly starting to fantasize a bit about what was underneath your workwear. He would have to remove layer by layer of your clothing first, starting with the Haori, until he had exposed your delicate skin in it’s full glory. Shinji wondered what noises he would elicit from you when he covered every inch of it with gentle kisses. He shivered at the thought of hearing you moan again, he would do anything to make you sing his praise, he-

“ _Shinji,_ did you listen?”

“Huh?”

Lisas voice brought him back to reality.

“What?”, he asked again, turning back towards her as he finally was able to tear his eyes off your body. He suddenly felt like he would need a little alone time later. Lisa looked at him quite eager, her arms still crossed before her chest, but she seemed more calm now. A slightly empathetic smile slid over her lips as she repeated her words.

“I just suggested we should postpone our little conversation. How about we meet at the bar today evening we used to go to before you decided to hit on my captain?”

*********

“So… first name terms already, huh?” Rukia laughed perkily as your cheeks turned even more rosy at her words. You nodded slightly. She snuggled up into the pillows on your sofa, placing her head on the backrest, her eyes still fixed on you. Rukia knew you to be very determined, to be a very tough woman, so it amused her to see this girly side on you as well. She couldn’t help herself to tease you a little from time to time since you fell for Shinji hook, line and sinker. Rukia was a bit surprised to hear it was him who caught your attention, though. Since she had to cover for Jushiro on his ‘bad days’ she had participated in the meetings for several times until now, which was where she first started to realize some changes in your behaviour a while ago. She noticed you would gaze across the room from time to time, a dreamy look on your face. It took her a while to gather the courage to just ask you about that matter. She felt a bit confused when she found out it was rather Shinji than Rojuro (whom she had assumed to be your object of desire in the first place) who caught your interest. She was even more surprised to hear the crush you had on him reached back to your academy days.

Nevertheless Rukia was happy to have your trust. She always wanted this kind of friendship with a woman where you meet up for a girls’ night out spontaneously, chatting about the latest gossip and sharing your secrets with each other.

Rukia had her eyes still fixed on you, her perky grin had changed into a much softer one. Her voice was all tender when she finally raised it again.

“Do you want to hear my humble opinion on all that?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“I’d suggest you start beating him at his own game.”

*****

As they agreed earlier that day Lisa met up with Shinji in the evening at the bar they used to go to together with the other Vizards. When Lisa arrived Shinji was already there, waiting in front of the bar for her, wearing a pensive look on his face. He greeted her with a nod of his head when she approached him.

“Seems a bit crowded in there today”, he muttered, taking a look through the window next to the entrance. Lisa shrugged her shoulders and the two of them entered the bar.

The waiter had just brought the alcohol she had ordered before, placing a bowl of edamame next to it. Lisa took Shinji’s cup, pouring a large amount of sake into it and handed it back to him before she filled her own as well. He looked at the alcohol for a second before downing it in one go. Shinji held the cup back into Lisa’s direction, kind of requesting.

“Be a good girl.” Lisa gazed at him suspiciously, hesitating for a short moment before she took the bottle again to pour him some more sake.

“Well, then. Cheers, Shinji.”

“Cheers.” They both tossed their sake down. A few minutes passed without either of them saying a word. Shinji grabbed some of the edamame, starting to fiddle the beans out of the pod with his long fingers. Lisa watched him play with the food a while before she took her eyes off his hands, blushing a bit as the moves he made with his fingers began to look rather ambiguous. She rested her head in her hands and let her eyes wander around the room, taking a short look on the other guests. The bar was well-attended, the different conversations melted into a monotonous buzzing.

Another few minutes passed before Lisa noticed typical mouthy Shinji had remained quiet until now. It usually didn’t took him long after a few shots to become even more talkative than he normally used to be, but today he appeared kind of gloomy. Lisa turned her head back to him, focusing on his face. She wondered if there was anything bothering him. He seemed so different to his usual self, Lisa instantly felt a bit sorry for giving him shit earlier that day. She reached out for him, placing her palm on his hand to make him stop tattering the food any further.

“Okay, first off: Chuck it. That’s gross.” Shinji raised his head a bit, starring at Lisa from under his displaced fringe, a surprised look showing on his face. His eyes had become a bit darker by now, starting to glaze over, a sign for the alcohol had already kicked in his metabolism.

“Second off: Are you okay?” Lisa gazed at him suspiciously. A deep sigh escaped his throat as Shinji leaned back on his seat, running his spare hand through his hair while still looking at her, slightly puzzled.

“...why?”

“Because you look like something’s eating you up from inside.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that English is not my first language, so I'm trying my best to make this as smooth as possible to read. Thank you!


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